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[Video Interview] ‘FIRE ISLAND’ director, star cook up a hilarious, heartfelt modern spin on ‘PRIDE & PREJUDICE’

Preston Barta // Film Critic

It’s going to be difficult to talk about the endearingly told barrel of laughs that is Fire Island without it turning into a therapy session. Good romances have that power, and Fire Island’s talent takes the material somewhere that’s less cozily corny and more legitimately sweet and beautifully articulated.

Directed by Andrew Ahn (2019’s Driveways), the romantic-comedy stars Joel Kim Booster (also the writer) and Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang. It’s a modern take on the classic Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice about two gay best friends who take a trip to Fire Island, a summer haven for the LGBTQ+ community. Throughout their week-long getaway, they party with friends (including Margaret Cho, Matt Rodgers and a killer-funny Tomas Matos) and lock eyes with other, wealthier vacationers (Conrad Ricamora and James Scully).

To celebrate the film’s premiere on Hulu this weekend, Fresh Fiction recently sat down with Ahn and star Zane Phillips (who plays a love interest of Booster’s character) in Dallas. In the below video chat, we discuss maintaining a seamless balance between comedy and drama, character introductions and their relationship with change.

Our Q&A with director Andrew Ahn and actor Zane Phillips:

Preston Barta

I have been working as a film journalist since 2010, dividing the first four years between radio broadcasting and entertainment writing in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In 2014, I entered Fresh Fiction (FreshFiction.tv) as the features editor. The following year, I stepped into the film critic position at the Denton Record-Chronicle, a daily North Texas print publication. My time is dedicated to writing theatrical film reviews, at-home entertainment columns, and conducting interviews with on-screen talent and filmmakers, as well as hosting a podcast devoted to genre filmmaking (called My Bloody Podcast). I've been married for ten happy years, and I have one son who is all about dinosaurs just like his dad.